So I've been going to a gym as I mentioned to finish up my practice hours and much to my relief, that's coming to an end. I am definitely not a gym person and find the atmosphere quite superficial and stifling. I'd much rather move in nature and freely, without having to score a number of "reps" or wear a special get-up.

Still, I was drying my hair in the locker room the other day (one of the benefits of having a nearby gym, when you live in a Communist country where hot running water is a privilege). And I sat there a fair bit, observing the women milling around me. Sitting by the mirrors, I saw a fair number of young women drawn to the pretty lights and the, of course, perfect selfie opportunity.

What struck me was how they all fit neatly into the same stereotype - all with the pouty duck lips and fake eyelashes. Most of them spending a great deal of time arranging their cleavage to make sure enough of themselves was, to put it conservatively, on display. Making sure the uber-tight tights highlighted their bubble butts (is that the term?) in just the right way. Sleek, perfectly combed hair, glossy lips, heavy foundation applied.

If I didn't know where I was, I might've thought Vogue were just outside the door ready to shoot.

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*Am I doing it right?*</center>


The experience left me baffled a bit. See, I like to think I have quite an open mind on that front. I'm constantly losing myself in the beauty of the women around me, and I've often found myself resonating with this classic from *Californication*'s Hank Moody,

> *"I find myself telling her how beautiful she is anyway.'Cause it's true. All women are in one way or another. There's always something about every damn one of you, a smile, a curve, a secret. You ladies really are the most amazing creatures."*

My point being, there's so much already there to work with. It seems a shame that so many women have been convinced they're plain, that they're not conventionally good-looking (an increasingly narrow convention, seems to me) and that their only shot is to sabotage themselves with Botox or implants and all sorts of other unholy shit.

As I sat there, I found myself wondering. What exactly happens if you walk out the locker room door and your tights *don't* accentuate your ass the precise perfect way? Or if, God forbid, you don't go into your Zumba whatever wearing a face loaded with toxic make-up that will seep into your delicate pores while you work out?

I sat watching out of the corner of my eye a kid, couldn't have been more than 18 years old, yet already with ducky lips, face full of make-up, perfect hair, the works. No boob job, thank God, at least not yet, but with the hundred selfies and the stuff already happening, that couldn't be too far.

Dunno how much of their self-worth these women assign to these additions and implementations, but I'm guessing it must be quite a lot, by how much time they waste with appearances. Obviously, no one is saying go out unkempt or all Cousin It like (kinda like me drying my hair). But, I mean, do you really need all that crap? Especially when you're 18 or 25 or whatever and your fertility and youth are already naturally on display, and presumably making you attractive to the opposite sex?

I struggle, still, to understand who finds this attractive, though my working theory is it's not so much the fake eyelashes as it's the low self-esteem that goes with all these implementations. If that sounds cynical and sad, it's because so is reality.

What's more owrrying in my opinion though is this sort of BS passes for "independent, liberated women loving and respecting themselves".

I'm not sure where the sexual revolution failed, but with more fake tits, asses, lips, cheeks, hair, and literally everything else you can imagine, I seriously doubt *this* is the most free, most happy and best iteration of womanhood possible. 

Although on the surface, we're being told (correctly) that our differences are what make us beautiful, in the end we seem to blend into one another more than ever before. Everyone dresses the same, everyone looks increasingly the same. Doesn't seem like the message is getting across and one can't help but wonder at all these industries promoting this same-ification as what's "attractive".

Obviously, we each have our own definition of attractiveness, but for me, an attractive woman is all spirit.  She's real. A smile, a laugh, a come-hither. She's comfortable and frankly has bigger concerns right now than to wonder if men are looking at her butt. 

### So, I guess. Why do you think this is happening? And how do *you* define an attractive woman?


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